2.5 out of 5.0 stars2.5

The Nintendo Company, over its tenure, has been mainly focused on the video game genre. However, with “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”,which was released in 2023, Nintendo has begun to dip its toes into the world of animated film. Upon the release of this first Mario movie, audiences’ opinions were a mixed bag of reviews. Some loved it, some hated it. But most critics agreed that the film was a lowball full of easter eggs and eye candy, and when it all washed away, it was an alright movie with a bad script, scoring 59% on Rotten Tomatoes. 

When the sequel, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie”, was announced in September 2025, fans were eager to see how Nintendo would expand the world of Mario. This film had a plethora of preexisting intellectual property to fuel the movie–making process because Super Mario games have been around for just over 40 years at this point. Produced by Illumination and Shigeru Miyamoto, directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and written by Matthew Fogel, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” has a star–studded blend of video game and film masterminds behind the scenes. There are certainly no creative blocks when it comes to writing a script for a grandiose project like this. But did they pull it off? Well, kind of.

This was an extremely eye-catching animated movie. The color popped off the screen and the animated set pieces were a slam dunk. It’s very clear that a great amount of time was dedicated to animating this film the best it possibly could be. Illumination has previously dropped the ball in the animation department, for example, “Minions: The Rise of Gru” (2022), where the animation felt lifeless and uninspired. Some specific animations that really stood out during the film was any scene involving Bowser Jr.’s iconic purple magic paint brush, the puppet scene with Bowser where the felt texture looked extremely realistic, and the stunning Fox McCloud backstory set piece animated in the style of his own video game series. 

Overall, the vocal ensemble bringing the characters to life was stellar, with a few gripes. Charlie Day continues to nail down Luigi’s mannerisms and bring to life the anxious and goofy brother to Mario, who’s always wearing green. Benny Safdie, known primarily for his dramatic roles and directing alongside his brother Josh Safdie, voiced Bowser Jr. This performance was remarkably good considering the fact that he had not appeared in any animated movies up until this point. Donald Glover as Yoshi is impeccable; it is impossible to tell that it is the same man who sang “Bonfire”. Keegan Michael Key continues to hit the mark with Toad. 

There were two voice acting performances that were absolutely perfect. First off was Jack Black as Bowser, his voice fits the character perfectly and the pure energy he brings bounces out of the screen. Surprisingly, Glen Powell as Fox McCloud was a well fit casting. He captures the exact energy needed to portray Fox’s tenacious high–octane attitude on the silver screen. Brie Larson joined the squad, voicing Princess Rosalina in the film and didn’t do half bad. However, die–hard Rosalina fans will just be disappointed by this film. She is granted a disrespectfully low amount of screentime in this film, and taking into account how prevalent she was in the trailers promoting “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” this was a let–down. 

In terms of Mario and Peach, both Chris Pratt and Anya Taylor–Joy sincerely lacked the necessary energy for their iconic characters, especially considering the sheer amount of screentime they take up in the film. Pratt lacked the necessary zing and pep of Mario. Pratt in his own right, has proved himself to be a phenomenal voice actor. For example, his voice as Emmett in “The Lego Movie” (2014) was an iconic performance, but his performance as Mario sounds as if his heart is just not in it. 

This movie definitely had a lot of appeal purely because of the sheer amount of easter eggs and fan service scattered throughout. In nearly every scene, there were at least three references where fans could pinpoint a specific moment in a Mario franchise game. While this was definitely entertaining, the plot felt like it relied on this fan–oriented content at particular points just to keep the audience’s attention. There were established Nintendo brand characters that also made cameo appearances in the movie to set up a further Mario cinematic universe going forward. With extremely recognizable faces turning up in the film like R.O.B., Mr. Game and Watch, and the colorful Pikmin. Many fans speculate that a “Super Smash Bros.” movie is on the docket next for Nintendo, but time will tell. 

Overall, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” was not an atrocious movie. The vibrant color and animation was entertaining for one hundred minutes, but the script and plot consistently fell short of having any depth. This is not a major step up from the first film. Taking into consideration the preexisting universe the film is set in, and the amount of locations, plot points, and well–thought–out development that exists in the Super Mario Galaxy video games, the Nintendo team could have exceeded what was believed possible for a video game movie. Nevertheless, they ultimately fell short of the goal at the end of the level.